A six-story apartment building proposed in southwest Quincy was met with the full-throated opposition of union laborers at its first city council permit hearing.

Members of the Quincy & South Shore Building Trades Council packed Wednesday’s hearing, saying developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes has spurned their attempts to ensure that local tradesmen will build the 180-unit project, which is planned for a barren lot next to the Lowe’s store on Burgin Parkway.

Attendees toted signs that read “Local Jobs for Local People,” and told the council stories of being out of work for prolonged periods and driving by non-union sites in Quincy on their way to jobs in Boston, New Hampshire and New York.

“It’s not the big bucks, it’s the benefits, it’s the protection,” said Pat McKenna, a Houghs Neck resident who retired from Laborers Local 133 after an injury.

Edward Fleming, an attorney for property owner and co-developer Michael Verrochi, told the city council the proponents have reached a “meeting of the minds” with the carpenters union on the project, and that discussions with other unions are ongoing.

Fleming shot back at City Councilor Brian McNamee for saying the proponents are “falling short” in ensuring that wages and benefits for workers on the project will meet community standards.

“I think it’s irresponsible to make that comment at this stage,” Fleming said to McNamee.

In a fiery speech, Bob Rizzi, president of the trades council, accused Fleming of lying about the proponents’ dealings with the union, and he said the union has already proposed an agreement with a clause that would ensure local tradesmen work on the project.

“You took it out. You removed it,” he said to the development team, seated in the front row.

The city council is vetting the project because the site is zoned Planned Unit Development, which requires a permit from the council. The next meeting on the project is scheduled for June 12.

The review is getting under way just after the council concluded a drawn-out, court-ordered review of its 2009 rejection of the proposed C-Mart grocery store in North Quincy. Unions did not oppose that project because its developer, Michael Fang, committed to hiring union labor for the project.

The apartment project appears to have the support of neighbors. A handful of residents spoke in support Wednesday, saying they appreciated Verrochi and his co-developer changing plans in response to their concerns about density.

Verrochi’s original proposal was for a 12-story tower with 200 units, but the height and number of units were reduced, the footprint was spread out, and parking was placed underground in response to concerns.

Verrochi, a Norwell resident, ran a spring-water distribution and supply business on what is now part of the Lowe’s property. He swapped land with Lowe’s, which opened in 2011, to obtain the 100,000-square-foot parcel across from the Quincy Adams MBTA station.